Apple and Amazon Near Agreement to Bring Amazon Video App to Apple TV

Apple and Amazon are near an agreement to bring Amazon's Video app to the Apple TV, reports Recode. Amazon employees expect the app to show up on Apple's hardware in the third quarter.

It’s unclear what got the two companies to reach an agreement, though some industry observers suggest that any pact would have been worked out, at a high level, by CEOs Tim Cook and Jeff Bezos.

Amazon and Apple are direct rivals in the streaming set top business. Amazon has its Fire TV and Apple offers the Apple TV. In the fall of 2015, Amazon stopped selling the Apple TV saying, "Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime. It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion."

To watch Amazon shows on the Apple TV, users currently have to AirPlay from their iPhone to the Apple TV via Wi-Fi. Purchasing or renting programs on Amazon's Prime Video app requires visiting Amazon first. It's unclear if the agreement between the companies covers improvements to the iOS app as well.